$6 million settlement for wrongful death

Case Conclusion Date: 05.01.2012

Practice Area: Personal injury

Outcome: Settled for $6 million

Description: When considering something as horrific as the death of an 8-year-old girl, there is little to be delighted about. That said, the Law Offices of Aronberg & Aronberg and attorney Todd A. Newman of Philadelphia are proud to announce a $6 million settlement from the first of two defendants responsible for the unspeakable loss of life that took place nearly four years ago.
As we approach the anniversary of this little girl’s death, her family might finally begin the process of healing with the understanding that there is justice in the world — it just won’t be given to you.
Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. In the summer of 2008, a little girl and her family were traveling along the New Jersey Turnpike. It was nighttime, so the little girl was asleep in the backseat with some of her family members. The driver of the car, the little girl’s uncle, was an off-duty NYPD officer at the time. So when the family came upon a motorist in distress, it’s no surprise that the officer pulled the family’s vehicle into the emergency lane and got out of the car to help.
The officer, helped a woman escape her car that had become wedged underneath a giant 18-wheeler, which was stuck in the highway. The driver of the 18-wheeler violated company protocol and NJ state law by driving the vehicle without the proper reflective tape and failing to place the reflective, orange, triangle markers behind his truck to warn other motorists of the danger in the road.
The little girl, her mother and her sister were still in the backseat of the car at this point, safely in the emergency lane. Out of nowhere, another 18-wheeler came barreling down the highway at normal speeds despite the obstruction in the road ahead. At the last split second, the driver noticed the other 18-wheeler and the car beneath it and swerved to the right to avoid hitting them. He lost control of his truck and slammed into the back of the family’s vehicle, delivering an unimaginable injury to the little girl, her sister and their mother.
All were rushed to hospitals. The 8-year-old struggled for life before finally passing on. The excruciating last four years have been made worse by the lack of remorse from both responsible parties — both companies which were operating the 18-wheelers at the time. The first was negligent in that they didn’t put out flares or markers to mark the scene and notify other motorists, and the second was negligent in crashing into the car, causing the injuries that killed the little girl.
One of the companies recently settled for
$6,000,000—a considerable amount of money, but nothing in comparison to the value of a young life and the promise that adulthood might have meant. The second company has yet to settle, and a Trial by Jury is scheduled for this Fall.
Where is the accountability? Companies take consumer money and then refuse to cough up a cent when someone dies as a result of their negligence. The refusal to settle means that good deeds do go unnoticed. Not only do they go unnoticed, but if you happen to get killed in the act, because of a negligent driver, that goes unnoticed too.
We will certainly keep you posted with any developments in this case. Representing the family of the little girl who was killed for absolutely no reason, other than her family was doing the right thing, we have a new found understanding of how important personal injury law is. It’s not about squeezing money out of insurance companies—it’s about seeking justice for those who deserve it most.